Gaelic Games

Cork claim Munster title as rise shows no signs of abating

The Rebels brushed aside Clare in Thurles as they continue to defy the critics this year

Clare’s John Conlon is blocked down by Colm Spillane of Cork during the Munster Senior Hurling Championship final at Semple Stadium, Thurles. Photo: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Malachy Clerkin's face
Malachy Clerkin at Semple Stadium, Thurles
Sun Jul 9 2017 - 18:18

Cork 1-25 Clare 1-20

The Rebel rocket keeps rising. The team who started the Munster championship as 10/1 outsiders waltzed away with the title on the back of a 1-25 to 1-20 win over Clare in Semple Stadium. In truth, it was a five-point hammering, Clare never really laying a glove on Kieran Kingston’s side and struggling to stay in touch once Cork pushed on in the second quarter.

In a game where Cork’s young wizards were in special form again, with Mark Coleman and Colm Spillane already making the left side of the Cork defence look secure for the next decade. But it was a former young starlet who really carried them home, sizzling his way to 1-4 from play. Along with Patrick Horgan in the inside-forward line, they always had the firepower to keep Clare at a distance.

Cork always looked the more coherent outfit, full of flicks and sideways passes, runs into space and designed movement. Anthony Nash was William Tell in hooped socks, splitting apples at 80 paces with his puck-outs. One of them set in motion the Cork goal, a flat dart to Luke Meade who fed Cadogan to go do his thing.

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Cadogan tormented Clare in the first half especially. His marker Oisín O’Brien was called to the sideline before half-time, with Cadogan already having amassed 1-3 from play and having drawn a free from a lost-cause ball on the endline for Patrick Horgan to bump out his own total. Cork were feeding him as much as possible and Clare had no answer.

Clare had a stockpile of equivalent threats at the other end but struggled for a way to keep them fed. Conor McGrath and Shane O’Donnell were curtailed inside, with Colm Spillane particularly excellent on McGrath. As a result, they had to keep shooting from out the field and they picked the wrong day for a wonky radar.

Inside the opening 25 minutes, Clare pucked five wides from viable shooting positions in the middle of the pitch. Granted, they were all from between 60 and 80 yards but distance was the only object and they would rue those misses. By that stage, Cork had six wides but two of them were long passes trying to find Cadogan and Patrick Horgan in space and the other four were shots from the wings. It told a tale of two teams trying different roads to the same destination.

When Clare did make it through, they hadn’t the luck or precision to make it count. Cathal Malone hit the crossbar twice, once in either half, both times after O’Donnell put him away. O’Donnell himself was fouled for a penalty after 19 minutes but Tony Kelly blazed it over the bar. All the while, Cork were rolling ever on at the other end, Horgan potting frees with impunity, Cadogan a menace.

They led 1-10 to 0-8 at the break, having scored the next five points in a row after Kelly’s penalty. And any time Clare made a drive at them in the second half, they replied in kind. A point for Clare, a point for Cork. A point from Clare, a point from Cork.

It all looked washing out as a routine enough win for Cork until McGrath managed to wriggle free for a goal in the 55th minute. John Conlon rampaged through the Cork defence drawing attention from all angles before releasing McGrath 25 metres out and his shot low into the corner gave Nash no chance.

Game on, lads. That made it 1-16 to 1-13 and when Tony Kelly swished a quick follow-up, there was suddenly only a margin of a couple of points for Clare to negotiate. Cork needed the next score and Cadogan kept earning his corn, popping up on the left sideline to steady the Cork ship in the next attack.

And though Conlon fired a reply to keep Clare breathing, Cork were in no mood to give them oxygen. Coleman drove into the game and dominated the closing quarter. He set Horgan up for a point, sliced a sideline true and pure between the sticks from 50 metres and then nailed another from play. The two-point margin was back out to five in short order.

Cork into a semi-final, so. Clare into tomorrow morning’s draw, with either Tipp or Waterford waiting in the quarter-final. Plenty hurling to be played yet.

CORK: 1. Anthony Nash; 4. Colm Spillane, 3. Damian Cahalane, 2. Stephen McDonnell (capt.); 5. Christopher Joyce, 6. Mark Ellis, 7. Mark Coleman (0-2, one line-ball); 8. Bill Cooper, 9. Darragh Fitzgibbon (0-1); 15. Luke Meade (0-1), 11. Conor Lehane (0-1), 10. Séamus Harnedy (0-2); 13. Alan Cadogan (1-4), 14. Patrick Horgan (0-13, 10 frees), 12. Shane Kingston (0-1).

Subs: 21. Daniel Kearney for Kingston (57 mins), 24. Luke O’Farrell for Fitzgibbon (61 mins), 25. Michael Cahalane for Kingston (55 mins),

CLARE: 1. Andrew Fahy; 2. Séadna Morey (0-1), 3. David McInerney (0-1), 7. Oisín O'Brien; 5. David Fitzgerald, 6. Conor Cleary, 4. Patrick O'Connor (capt.); 8. Colm Galvin (0-1), 10. Tony Kelly (0-10, seven frees); 9. Cathal Malone, 11. Pádraic Collins (0-1), 12. John Conlon (0-2); 13. Shane O'Donnell, 14. Aron Shanagher (0-1), 15. Conor McGrath (1-1).

Subs: 20. Jason McCarthy (0-1) for O’Brien (33 mins), 18. David Reidy for Collins (half-time), 17. Cian Dillon for O’Connor (43 mins), 19. Aaron Cunningham (0-1) for Shanagher (60 mins), 22. Peter Duggan for Malone (65 mins).